Licensed telehealth
A remote health visit, for example through video or an online exchange reviewed by the person treating you.
Ask before paying
Who evaluates me, and how can I ask follow-up questions?
Get your bearings / Briefing
Compare online, in-person and combined care
Compare care routes by what the visit can assess, who follows up and how local tests or visits with someone else are handled.
Choose care that can look into your health problem
Describe the problem before the product
Write what you want help with, how it affects daily life and what you have already tried.
Ask what can happen in the visit
Will it include a live conversation, a records review or an in-person exam?
Ask where the route leads next
How are tests, local care and follow-up arranged if they are needed?
Online, in person or combined care
An in-person clinic
A visit in a room with the person treating you.
Ask before paying
What can this visit assess, and what might require help seeing another professional?
Combined care
Online contact with a plan for local visits or tests.
Ask before paying
Who receives the results and explains what happens next?
Expect the same level of care online and in person
The Federation of State Medical Boards provides guidance to the state bodies that license doctors. It says online visits must provide the same level of medical care as visits in person.
Its guidance makes the person treating you responsible for arranging tests or an exam that the online visit cannot provide, including referral to another professional when needed.
Check location before committing
Guidance checked on September 26, 2026, says permission for online care depends on which state you are physically in during care.
Whoever provides your care needs that state’s licence or another form of permission. Some states allow people licensed elsewhere to register for online care; the state sets the terms.
Give the service your expected location during the visit, especially if travel could take you somewhere else.
Find the records to checkReading notes
- Medical-board guidance: health reviews and further care
Read what the person treating you must find out and when they must arrange tests or further care. States set the rules that can be enforced; this is guidance.
- HHS: practising across state lines
The Department of Health and Human Services explains licences, registrations and why the patient’s location matters.